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Organ Donation : A Transplant

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“Organ donation is the surgical process of providing one or more organs to be used for transplantation into another person. Organ donors can be deceased or living” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016, p. 1). The very first successful organ transplant was a kidney transplant performed in 1954. By the late 1960’s they were successfully transplanting livers, hearts and pancreases. Lung and intestinal transplants came shortly after in the 1980’s. At this very second 121,574 people are waiting for an organ and every day 22 people will die while they wait. A single organ donor can save up to 8 lives (HRSA, 2016). The number one reason for an organ transplant is end-stage organ failure which can be caused by a number of diseases. Examples of diseases that can lead to needed an organ transplant is Cardiomyopathy, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Hepatitis and Cirrhosis. Once somebody finds out that they need a transplant the first step is to get a referral from their physician to be seen by a transplant program to find out if they qualify as a candidate. The second step is to pick a transplant program. It’s important to do as much research as one can to find exactly which one meets the patient’s needs. The final step is to get listed. Once a patient is deemed a suitable candidate the transplant team will add you to the Organ Procurement Transplant Network (OPTN) list. (HRSA, 2016) Organ donation only happens with organ donors. Anybody can enroll in their

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